


Something Happens (When Everybody Finds Out)

by dolphina



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: 5 times people found out and 1 time SoMeOnE was an idiot, Coming Out, Fluff, M/M, Vancouver Canucks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-14 14:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19274770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dolphina/pseuds/dolphina
Summary: Five times Nik and Elias weren't a subtle as they thought...And that one time Ben Hutton couldn't keep a secret.





	1. Troy Stecher & Brock Boeser

**Author's Note:**

  * For [forever_falln](https://archiveofourown.org/users/forever_falln/gifts).



> I promised to have this done ages ago... and then I got distracted writing a super, super angsty fic that still isn't done. Oh well, here's something light and (hopefully) funny. 
> 
> Rooster, in case anyone is wondering, is what I've heard various Canucks call Antoine Roussel.
> 
> Title from Taylor Swift's I Know Places because I couldn't think of anything better.

Looking back, it had always been kind of weird that Nik and Elias would choose to be roommates after having their own apartments for a season. They’d explained it away easily enough, and no one had thought much of it. 

It wasn’t until Brock and Troy came over to play Fortnite one afternoon that anyone noticed anything strange. Troy hadn’t been over to their place much, so he wasn’t totally sure which door led to the bathroom. The first door turned out to be a bedroom, but it wasn’t discernably Elias’ or Nik’s. It looked like a guest bedroom – just basic furniture, nothing personal at all. _Weird_ , Troy thought. _Very, very weird_. It was too neat to be Nik’s, and just didn’t seem like Elias at all.

Troy found the bathroom on his next try, but hesitated. The door at the end of the hallway was ajar. He pushed it a little farther open and peered in. It was tidy (Elias’ doing, no doubt), but obviously lived in. There were phone chargers and bedside tables piled with magazines and stuff on both sides. The hoodie he’d seen Petey wearing yesterday was draped across the back of a chair, and Nik’s favourite red shoes were peeking out from under the bed. The longer he looked, the more details confirmed what he suspected. He returned the door to its original position, feeling a bit guilty. It wasn’t any of his business. 

Troy didn’t say anything when he returned to the living room, but he started to pay closer attention to Nik and Elias. There wasn’t much to notice beyond an occasional smile or the brush of a hand that could easily be passed off as accidental or friendly. 

Still, the more Troy thought about it, the more sense it made. Nik and Elias had always been close, even when Elias was rooming with Brock on the road and the media was captivated by their friendship. Troy had never known either of them to have a girlfriend but hadn’t really questioned it. He’d assumed Elias was too focused on hockey, and he and Nik didn’t talk much. Besides Nik, Brock was the one who knew Elias best. He would know if Troy’s hypothesis was right. 

“Do you think they’re… uh, together?” Troy asked as soon as the door closed behind them. 

“What?” From his puzzled expression, it was clear that Brock had no idea what Troy was talking about.

“Nik and Elias. Are they dating? I wasn’t trying to snoop or anything, but it kinda seems like they only use one bedroom…”

Brock just blinked at him for a moment. “That actually makes a lot of sense,” he said slowly. “I can’t believe Elias didn’t tell me. _Holy shit_.”

“I know right? Like, how long has this been going on without anyone noticing? Are we really that blind?”

Brock gives him a look. Yeah, Troy isn’t really all that surprised no one has noticed.


	2. Jake Virtanen

Of all the people on the team Nik and Elias would’ve expected to figure it out, Jake was probably one of the last. He was always so busy chirping and having a good time that everyone foolishly assumed he didn’t notice things. 

Despite their efforts, it was sharing clothes that got them in the end. They each had their own side of the closet, and generally kept their clothes separate. Now and then, they might trade hoodies or t-shirts when none of their teammates were around, but that was it. 

But then Nik got hurt right before a road trip. It was minor, and he’d probably be back in a couple weeks, but not soon enough to come on their three-game road trip. Elias was thinking about how strange being on the road without Nik would be, and how much he would miss curling up next to him after a game. As he was packing, he spotted Nik’s favourite hoodie, abandoned on the floor despite his frequent requests that Nik pick up after himself. Without overthinking it, Elias folded it and tucked it into his suitcase. 

He put it on one afternoon when they everyone was hanging out in their hotel rooms. He’d just gotten off of FaceTime with Nik, who was equal parts outraged at the loss of his favourite hoodie and delighted that Elias was wearing it. 

Jake texted one of the group chats, inviting them on a Starbucks run. Without thinking, Elias hurried downstairs to meet them in the lobby. Brock and Troy didn’t bat an eye when they saw the hoodie, but Jake gave him a calculating look. 

He didn’t say anything about it until they were back at the hotel and Brock and Troy had disappeared in search of Bo. The moment the elevator door closed, Jake pounced.

“Nice hoodie,” he grinned wickedly. If only it was one of the team hoodies, interchangeable except for number, Elias could’ve passed it off as a mix-up. But it was Nik’s black wolf hoodie, one that even a particularly attentive fan might know from his Audi ad, Elias realized with a fresh wave of horror. 

“I think so.” Elias said, forcing himself to remain calm. Jake, being Jake, probably wouldn’t come to the right conclusion. Hopefully.

Casually leaning against the elevator mirror, Jake asked “How long have you been sleeping together?” 

Apparently Jake was more observant than Elias had given him credit for. Or else he was joking, and if Elias played it cool, no one would be the wiser.

“What?” Elias said, feigning innocence, but Jake was not fooled. He didn’t seem to be taking it badly, at least. 

“Oh come on, I’m not an idiot. You brought his favourite hoodie on a road trip. That’s not accidental. How often do you disappear to do things just the two of you? And sometimes when you think no one’s paying attention, you guys _cuddle_.”

“Almost a year,” Elias conceded nervously. “We’ve been together since New Year’s.”

“Sweet, Rooster owes me $100! We made a bet at the beginning of last season on when you’d get together. I said before the All-Star break, he said between the break and the end of the regular season.” 

“You made a bet about us? We’d just met, how did you even know?” Elias exclaimed, horrified that they’d been so obvious. 

“Dude, don’t you remember telling us Nik was the hottest guy you’d ever seen?” Jake laughed at Elias’ appalled look. He vaguely remembered saying that, but Jake had just pretended to be offended at the time. “I’ll never forget the look on your face, you were so smitten. It was revolting. And then Nik couldn’t stop talking about how great you are, so we figured your chances were pretty good.” The elevator dinged as it arrived at their floor, but Jake pressed the button to close the doors again. 

“Who else knows? Brock?” Jake asked. 

“We haven’t told anyone.”

“Seriously? There’s no way I’m the only one to have figured this out.” That was an alarming thought. “I think you should tell the team, I’m sure everyone would be cool with it. And if they’re not,” Jake cracked his knuckles ominously before continuing, “I’ll take care of it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favourite chapters are still to come (they're pretty much done, just need some editing)


	3. Bo Horvat

Their flight was supposed to be at 11:00, which meant they had to leave the hotel at 9:30. As long as everyone was up by 8:30, they should have plenty of time. It wasn’t the captain’s job to make sure the schedule ran smoothly, but when the flight got moved up, it fell to Bo to wake up grouchy teammates. 

Bo hated being glared at by half asleep teammates first thing in the morning, when he didn’t want to be awake either. In fact, he had been woken up before the rest of the team, because none of the team’s staff wanted to deal with angry hockey players at 7:30am the morning after a game. Which they had lost in overtime to the fucking Flames.

Rooster told him to fuck off and hurled a pillow in his general direction. 

Hutty wouldn’t wake up until he turned the light on and started yelling.

Baertschi and Boeser took it well and woke up like decent human beings as soon as he knocked on their doors. 

Jake did not. 

Next time, he was going to make someone else wake Gaudette up. 

It was all pretty normal until he got to Quinn and Petey’s room. At least they could be counted on to be civilized, Bo though as he knocked. Quinn opened the door after a moment, looking a little on edge.

“Flight got changed, we have to hurry. Is Petey up?” 

“Uh, he’s kind of… not here?” 

“Not here?” Bo repeated dumbly. Petey? There was no way. He was the absolute last person Bo would expect to pull a disappearing act. And in Calgary, no less. What was there to do in Calgary?

“He went out and didn’t come back last night.” Quinn shrugged. “He didn’t say anything to me.” 

This was not happening. “Call him and tell him to get his ass back to the hotel before anyone else notices.” The last thing Bo needed today was media questions about how he’d handle Petey’s partying habits. 

Next up was Goldy, who would hopefully have some thoughts on the missing-franchise-centre situation. There was no response when he knocked, so he shuffled through the stack of room keys until he found the right one. 

“Hey guys, sorry to wake you so early but our flight time got changed.”

No response. That was unfortunate. He flicked on the light. It took him a second to process the scene in front of him, and then - 

What. The. Fuck.

On the bright side, Elias was no longer missing, although Bo was starting to think that might be easier to deal with, since there was procedure to follow. There were no guidelines for finding your teammates naked in bed together.

Bo was definitely not awake or caffeinated enough for this. 

Elias rolled away from Nik, opened his eyes, saw Bo, and made a strangled noise that sounded a lot like a dying cat. He turned bright red and looked like he wanted to die. Which, given the awkwardness of the situation, Bo completely understood.

“ _Nik!_ ” Elias whispered, shoving Goldy’s shoulder. 

Bo realized he’d been standing there staring for far too long. “Uh. Well. The flight got moved up and we have to be out of here in half an hour. There’ll be breakfast on the plane.” 

Goldy finally responded to Elias’ frantic prodding, sat up, saw Bo, and immediately faceplanted back into his pillow with a groan. Definitely not a morning person. 

Realizing the best thing to do was to bring this horrible situation to an end as quickly as possible, Bo hastily retreated out of the room and back to his own, where he started throwing things haphazardly into his suitcase. He was officially scarred for life.

The flight was fine. Bo normally sat with Sven, far enough away from Goldy and Petey that he didn’t have to interact with them. He spent most of the flight attempting to give himself a pep talk. He was the captain. He could handle this, he would not let it make things weird. It could have been worse, he tried to reassure himself. They were just sleeping, at least he hadn’t walked in on them – 

Nope. That line of thinking definitely didn’t help. 

Anyway, it wasn’t that he had a problem with it, he just hadn’t appreciated finding out like that before he’d even had breakfast. Oh no. Now they probably thought he was homophobic or freaking out about them wrecking the team’s dynamic (he kind of was, what if they broke up? Or were they just messing around? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know). 

Once they got off the plane, Bo pulled Nik and Elias aside in the airport. They looked terrified. 

“I’m sorry about this morning. I hate waking people up and I was just surprised.” What an understatement. “I won’t tell anyone, and as long as you guys are happy it’s not a problem,” Bo said in what he hoped was a calm, captain-ly voice. 

They both relaxed visibly. 

“Thank you,” Nik said softly, looking at the floor. 

Bo took that as his cue to escape, and hopefully never have to deal with this again. He was captain of a hockey team, he did not sign up to deal with his teammates sleeping together. Navigating the ever-shifting friendships and media on top of normal hockey stuff was complicated enough.

Brock appeared at his side, making him jump a little as he’d been lost in thought.

“Hey, what’s going on? You’ve been weird all morning.”

“Just tired,” Bo lied, hoping it was the only time he’d have to lie to cover for Nik and Elias. Or maybe Brock knew? He should’ve asked.


	4. Quinn Hughes

With Brock on his fancy new contract, Quinn and Elias became roommates. It suited them fine – they got along, neither of them was too messy. 

There was one thing, though, that bugged Quinn once he started to notice it. Elias disappeared. Occasionally with the excuse of watching a movie with Goldy or Brock, but usually without a word. Sometimes he was back before Quinn fell asleep, other times he would slip in at some point during the night. A couple of times, he didn’t make it back before Quinn’s alarm went. On those days, Elias always looked a little guilty, but strangely well rested for someone who’d been out partying or hooking up. 

Quinn never asked, but he wondered. Elias hardly drank when he was with the team, and he never came back drunk or showed signs of being hungover. He could be hooking up, but then why didn’t he say so? Especially when Jake and Hutty teased him about not knowing how to talk to girls.

A new layer of intrigue was added when Bo came around to wake the team up for an earlier flight and discovered Elias missing. He was as baffled as Quinn, but considerably more outraged and panicked by the development. Quinn phoned Elias, but it turned out he’d left his phone plugged in on the bedside table. Right when Quinn was ready to join Bo in full blown freakout mode, Elias waltzed in. 

“Where have you _been_?!” Quinn exclaimed.

“I fell asleep in Nik’s room.” Elias went straight into the bathroom and shut the door without another word. He seemed upset, although Quinn couldn’t imagine why. A couple seconds later Quinn’s phone chimed with a text from Bo, confirming that Elias had been with Nik. 

“Hmmm…” Quinn stared at the text thoughtfully. Maybe Elias had been telling the truth all along, and he was just hanging out with their teammates. In that case, Quinn was a little hurt that he’d never been invited. 

A few weeks later the Devils came to town, and he recounted the whole bizarre business over lunch with Jack. His brother offered another theory entirely.

“I bet Goldy’s his boyfriend,” Jack suggested casually.

Quinn choked on a fry. “What?” he spluttered.

“Totally. Didn’t you say they often ditch the rest of you to hang out together?” 

Jack was a freakin genius. “Huh.” Jack took advantage of Quinn’s distraction to steal his last fry. 

“Are you gonna ask them?” 

“Are you crazy? What if we’re wrong?” Quinn shuddered at the thought. 

Jack rolled his eyes. “I’m not wrong. This sounds just like –“ he cut off abruptly as he realized what he was saying.

“Just like who?” Quinn prompted, curiosity piqued.

“Nevermind. The point is, there’s definitely something going on between those two.” 

And that night when Elias takes a questionable hit and Nik comes perilously close to getting into a fight that would not end well for him… well, Quinn is pretty sure his brother has the right idea.


	5. The Team

You know that saying, the road to hell is paved with good intentions? Bo thought it described his team perfectly. It was, unsurprisingly, Jake and Ben’s fault. For reasons Bo would never understand, they thought it would be a brilliant idea to throw a surprise birthday party for Elias. In cases like this, it was generally best to go along with their plans and try to limit the damage, since once they got rolling Jake and Ben were a force of nature. 

Which is how Bo found himself hauling balloons and a giant happy birthday banner up to Nik and Elias’ apartment. Brock had provided a key in case Nik wasn’t home. Bo checked the time. Elias should still be out to dinner with some friends who were visiting from Sweden. Elias had been vague about his plans, only saying that he was busy on his birthday. Bo thought, not for the first time, or even the tenth, that it would take a miracle for this party to go well. There were too many variables – they didn’t even know when Elias would be home. 

Bo knocked, but there was no answer. He unlocked the door and lugged the decorations in, with Jake, Ben, and Brock following with food and drinks. Troy was supposed to bring the cake later. No one else seemed fazed by Nik’s absence, but it made Bo a little uneasy. Jake and Ben had insisted on keeping the party a secret from Nik, afraid he would slip up around Elias. Bo actually considered that a point in favour of telling Nik, but no one else seemed to share his view. Now though, Bo wondered if Elias was indeed out with his friends or if he had only said that to keep their teammates from tagging along on a birthday dinner with Nik. 

“Where are we setting all this stuff up?” Brock interrupted Bo’s musings. He was soon distracted by the logistics of hanging the banner and setting up the snacks. The chaos only increased as more people showed up. 

“Jeez, I forgot their apartment was so small,” Jake complained, cramming another bowl of chips onto the overflowing counter. 

“First of all, I told you we could do this at my house and you shot me down. And second, there’s no way we need this much junk food.” While Bo wasn’t terribly keen on hosting the party at his house, there would’ve been a lot more room. And he’d had serious misgivings about invading Nik and Elias’ apartment without their permission. So far though, the worst thing that had happened was Adam knocking a jar of salsa off the counter with his elbow. 

It’s after 8:00 by the time everything is set up, but there’s still no sign of Elias. Or Nik. 

“Hey, where is Nik at?” Brock asks. “He should be here for this.” They’re all sitting around waiting for Elias to show up, and Bo’s apprehension is growing by the minute. Brock looks a little stressed as well, which makes Bo wonder if he knows about Nik and Elias too. 

No one has any idea where Nik is, which is unusual. As far as Bo knows, Nik doesn’t really have any friends in Vancouver outside the team. Other than being with Elias, Bo can’t think of a likely explanation for Nik’s absence.

Brock leans over and whispers something to Troy, who frowns and pulls out his phone. “I’ll text him, let him know what’s going on.” 

A few minutes later, they hear laughter and footsteps in the hallway followed by the sound of a key in the lock. Everyone scrambles to get into position and Jake turns off the lights. 

The door swings open and Nik and Elias stumble in, illuminated by the light from the hallway. They’re still laughing, and Elias has an arm looped around Nik’s waist. Bo realizes what is about to happen seconds before everyone else, but still far too late to stop it. There’s a moment of darkness before Jake remembers that he’s the one in charge of the lights. The lights come on right as Elias presses Nik against the wall and kisses him, one hand finding its way to Nik’s belt and the other in his hair. A few shouts of “Surprise!” cut off mid-word. 

Elias couldn’t have moved faster if Nik was on fire. He jolts backwards, face turning crimson as he struggles for words. Nik is frozen like a deer in headlights, one hand still half-extended like he’s reaching for Elias. 

“Well this IS a surprise!” Ben proclaims loudly over the confused whispers of their teammates. Bo remembers how terrified Nik and Elias were when he caught them together, and he feels awful. He should have found a way to shut Jake and Ben down, or at least told Nik what was going on before it was too late. Brock and Troy look similarly guilty… and strangely, so does Jake. 

“I am so sorry guys, I didn’t think…” Jake trails off. There’s murder written all over Elias’ face, but Nik just looks scared. 

“No, you didn’t think,” Elias snarls. Jake flinches at the venom in Elias’ voice. “Just get out. All of you.” Elias wraps an arm around Nik, who is blinking back tears, and whispers something in his ear. 

It’s quiet as people start to collect their jackets and shoes. A few stop to say a couple words to Nik and Elias on their way out. Bo can’t hear what’s said, but by the time it’s just Bo, Jake, Ben, Brock, and Troy remaining, Elias no longer looks like he wants to kill someone. 

“Troy and I already knew,” Brock says apologetically, confirming what Bo suspected. “But when Jake and Ben were planning the party, it didn’t occur to us that you might…”

“Want to kiss my boyfriend, in my apartment, on my birthday?” Put like that, the four of them seem like even bigger morons. 

“Yeah,” Troy says dejectedly. 

“We’ll have a team meeting tomorrow. Most of the guys will be fine, and anyone who isn’t will keep their mouth shut. No one will say anything to the media. Try not to worry, I’ll handle this.” 

And Bo does handle it. The meeting the next morning is horribly awkward, but it’s over quickly. Bo keeps a close eye on everyone over the next few days, but nothing disastrous happens. It takes a while to find a new normal, but most of the guys fall into an easy routine of teasing Nik and Elias like they’re any other couple. Bo is proud of his team.


	6. Literally Everyone

Anytime the topic of telling the team had come up, the increased danger of a slip in front of the media was raised as a counterargument. Once the team found out, it was only a matter of time until someone screwed up in front of the wrong people. In some ways, it was a miracle they kept the secret for three months, especially with roster changes and call-ups. 

When Nik and Elias imagined worst case scenarios, it never occurred to them that it would happen during a 30 second intermission interview. 

“Alright, we’ve got a little time left, how about a question in honour of Valentine’s Day?” Dan Murphy asked, tilting the microphone towards Ben Hutton. 

“I dunno, there’s not much to tell this year. No plans for me,” Ben grinned nonchalantly. 

“How about this then: which of your teammates is most annoying around their significant other and why?” Murph smiled, obviously thinking it was a great question. 

“Oh, that’s got to be Goldy and Petey. Can’t keep their hands off each other,” Ben laughed.

There was an awkward pause as he realized what he’d said, looking more and more horrified by the second.

“Oh, _FUCK_ ” Ben swore passionately, burying his face in his hands. He couldn’t believe he’d been so careless. 

“Alright, that’s all the time we have. We’re all tied up, 2-2 after two here at Roger’s Arena.”

Elias was going to kill him.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated :)


End file.
